Macau chalks up reduced first-quarter gaming tax revenues

April 27, 2022 Macau Earnings & Filings Industry Updates

The over 40 casinos in the gambling-friendly enclave of Macau reportedly contributed almost $1.08 billion in aggregated taxes during the first three months of the year including approximately $371.21 million in March.

According to a report from GGRAsia citing official information from the city’s Financial Services Bureau, the first-quarter figures represented a decline of 4.8% year-on-year although the figure for last month equated to an increase of 21.5% when compared with the $305.65 million chalked up for the whole of February. The source detailed that the authority had earlier forecast that it would collect an optimistic $6.15 billion in combined taxes from gambling for the entirety of 2022.

Definitive duties:

Macau is home to some of the world’s largest and most famous gambling venues including the iconic Casino Grand Lisboa from SJM Holdings Limited as well as Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited’s $3.2 billion Studio City Macau. All of these operations are reportedly required to pay a 35% gross gaming revenues tax alongside smaller duties for every live dealer table, gaming machine and VIP room they operate to take their effective rate up to around 39%.

Recent recession:

GGRAsia reported that the decline in first-quarter tax revenues from gambling comes as the former Portuguese enclave recorded a slump of 24.8% year-on-year in aggregated gross gaming revenues for the three-month period to about $2.19 billion. The source explained that this final figure encompassed $785.05 million for January, $960.14 million for February and a mere $454.39 million for March.